Crude oil prices should bounce back once global markets regain confidence after last week's startling downgrade of the United States' credit rating, the oil minister of OPEC-member Kuwait said on Sunday.
US light crude dived to a low of $82.87 a barrel, its lowest level since November 2010, after the world's largest economy lost its top-notch AAA credit rating from Standard & Poor's on Friday, before better-than-expected US jobs growth data drove a modest recovery to $86.88.
Increasing concern over the eurozone debt crisis also drove benchmark Brent crude oil down from highs of $120.40 a barrel last Monday to a low of $104.30 on Friday.
"We hope that this drop (in oil markets) does not last for a long time and we start seeing international markets recovering gradually after the panic we have seen from the situation in the US and Europe," Mohammad al-Busairi told Reuters in an interview on Sunday.
Kuwait's crude output averaged 2.6-2.7 million barrels per day (mbpd) in July, peaking at 2.8 mbpd some days, Busairi said, adding that Kuwait's output in August would depend on demand. Kuwait was the world's sixth largest oil exporter in 2010 and the government relies heavily on oil revenues.
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